MySpace is an online social networking web site which allows users to create custom profiles, write blogs, and upload photos and videos. It became popular among people in the music industry as a way to build a fanbase and promote their music. In March 2007, over 130 million people used MySpace; however, its popularity has been dropping in recent years in favor of more popular social networking sites such as Facebook.

Criticism

Many adults have criticized MySpace as being a hotbed for pedophiles and other undesirable users.

Many users do not know how much or how little information to put online, sometimes causing them to put far too much personal information online, where anyone can read it. [1]

Some employers have begun to research prospective employees by browsing their MySpace sites, possibly affecting their chance at being hired. [2]

Others have criticized it for causing the very demise of real-life relationships, instead forcing those relationships onto the internet.

Several people have voiced complaints of teenagers posting suggestive or otherwise inappropriate pictures of themselves. They claim that Myspace has not done enough to protect minors from the dangers associated with the internet. Myspace responded by implementing a "private" setting for profiles, blocking access to strangers, but this and other security features have done little to sway critics. The privacy settings can be circumvented by users with little or no hacking experience, rendering them essentially useless and hence providing a false sense of security to users.

MySpace has been used by atheists to promote their blogs, books and to reach out to young people. However, MySpace was very decisive in deleting a large atheist group[3]. MySpace's founder Tom Anderson is himself an atheist.[4]